Alright, I'm back from the dead and feeling (no) better (than usual) as ever!In order to get myself back into the swing of all things Gastro-slut, I knew I had to motivate myself with a potent higher power: peer pressure. I called forth some of my favorite critical ladyfriends for a dinner and asked them what they'd like me to cook. Their response was the most horribly cliche womanswer ever which included words like "lean", "healthy", and "protein". Although I'm a pretty strict add-more-butter fundamentalist I'm always up for a challenge, so we had prawn fra diavolo with fresh pasta, pea green salad, and a few different petit fours.
Everything was made from scratch, so I've included recipes for the pasta dough as well as prawn stock in a little addendum after the instructions for the sauce and assembly of the whole shebang.Prawn Fra Diavolo
-4 cups cherry tomatoes,
quartered
-1 lb fresh prawns
(local spotted prawns are best if you can find them)
-3 large cloves of garlic, minced
-1 shallot, minced
-2 bay leaves
-a couple sprigs of thyme
-2 tbsp capers
-olive oil
-chives
-parmigiano reggiano
-salt+pepper
-4 cups spicy prawn stock
(recipe below)
-fresh pasta
(recipe below)
Place a large pan over medium-high heat with a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Add in the shallots and garlic and fry for a minute or two - stir and pay attention to keep any bits from burning. Add in the cherry tomatoes, thyme, and bay leaves and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Once the tomatoes have softened and cooked down a bit you can pour in the stock and capers and let the whole thing simmer uncovered for about another 15-20 minutes.
Once your sauce is thusly primed for pasta, boil a large pot of water with a goodly amount of salt (the water should taste salty) and once the surface begins to roil drop in your pasta. Fresh pasta cooks quickly, so just get it dunked in there for a couple of minutes then immediately drain and place directly into your pan of sauce. Here the noodles will finish cooking and absorb as well as thicken the sauce. Mix well and continue cooking over high heat for 3-5 minutes, or until your pasta is al dente and your sauce nicely thickened. Within these last few minutes of cookery be sure to throw your prawns into the mix because BLECH, there are few things worse than overcooked seafood. To serve garnish with a little extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top, parmesan cheese, and minced chives.
Hopefully this post has shown you all that it is indeed possible to consume healthfully without having to "eat like a bird". Stay tuned for the upcomming 1st Annual Gastro-Slut Moustache Formal! (stock+pasta addendum below)
TIDBITLETS:Spicy Prawn Stock
1/4 tsp white pepper
salt to taste
2 inches of ginger root
1 large bird chili (or to taste)
1 shallot
heads and shells of approximately 35 medium sized prawns
4 cups water
olive oil
Slice the shallot, chili, and ginger root and smash the ginger slices with the side of your knife to help release their juices. Put a pot over high heat, pour in a tablespoon of olive oil, then add in the ginger, shallot, and prawn detritus. Fry for a couple of minutes - the prawn shells should turn pink and fragrant. Pour in the water and white pepper, season with salt to taste, and let boil for abot 20 minutes uncovered. Strain and set aside until needed.
Fresh "extra protein" pasta
1 cup soy flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour + extra for dusting
2 large eggs
This is just a stupid variation on my regular ol' pasta formula. The reason I used soy flour was its high nutritional content - believe me, I was really grasping at straws when approached with this whole "healthful" concept.
Pile the flour onto a clean counter top and make a big well right in the middle with your fingers. Crack your eggs into the well and carefully whisk them with a fork - maintain the wall of flour with your other hand to keep from spilling the eggs. As you whisk, increasing amounts of flour will be incorporated into the eggs. Eventually the slurry will be thick enough for you to just collapse the rest of the flour onto and knead together with your hands. The dough shouldn't be terribly sticky, and if you feel that it needs more (or less) flour go ahead and tweak the damn thing. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes and then run it through a pasta press and cutter. ...Or you can be lazy and buy fresh pasta from a grocery store, whatever.
